Order of Chaos
by librophile
Summary: When Order 66 was executed, most Jedi were killed within moments. But there were survivors... Warning: extremely angsty.
1. The Last of the Jedi

**Chapter One - The Last of the Jedi**

* * *

_"When gone am I," Master Yoda told young Luke softly, "the last of the Jedi will you be."_

* * *

Explosions rent the air. Ash fell liberally, sprinkling those below with blackness and lighting fires throughout the hard-won growth. The soft _shh_ of the ash combined with shouts of pain and desperation, interspaced with blaster-fire and piercing screams that faded ominously into silence.

Below the rock over face, Jedi Master Asmün Geriy looked at the two children he protected.

The older of the two, sixteen year old Agri-Corps initiate Kin Llwei, looked stoically at the falling ash, seemingly turning a deaf ear to the chaos about them. Only his eyes showed the agony he felt at watching his entire world go up in literal flames. Beside him crouched Asmün's own apprentice, twelve year old Jin-sé Corran. This was to have been their first mission as master and apprentice. Her eyes were glazed, obviously in a minor stage of shock.

Asmün sent a questing probe of energy toward the rampaging troops and felt a quiet hiss of warning whisper uneasily back to him. Danger, which he had already known, but it would soon get closer. And the other feeling he had…

Asmün had always been stronger in the Unifying Force than the Living, which meant several raised eyebrows when he requested Jin-sé, an obvious Living Force user, as his first padawan. He had actually requested that they be sent to the Agri-Corps base on Cycellia in an attempt to raise her abilities and give him a few tips on how to understand them himself.

For the last two weeks, he had wondered what this sense of impending action meant. When the troops had attacked, it felt all the more imminent.

His eyes fell again on his new apprentice and he knew what he had to do.

"Jin-sé."

Her head, and Kin's, snapped around.

Already he could hear the footfalls of the approaching troops, but he ignored them, focused on the task at hand. "Come here."

Jin-sé obediently obliged and scrambled over the rocks between them, ducking to keep herself from hitting her head on the roof of the small cave they sheltered in. A moment later her master's hand rested gently on her hair, seeming almost regretful, seeming to ask forgiveness…

There was a sharp _swish_.

Jin-sé barely caught the startled gasp from the horrified boy behind her, her eyes focused on the braid that now hung limply from Master Geriy's hand. Her hand slowly came up to touch the place the hard-won symbol belonged.

Asmün met her eyes, his own nearly drowned in pain, sorrow – and a sudden understanding that filled him with purpose as he told her softly, "Now you are no longer a Jedi." He gently took her hand from where it touched her hair to clasp the braid he held in his own hand, his words coming out with all the solemnity of a prophecy. "Claim the life that could be your own, and remember this day."

He drew her into his embrace, holding her for a moment before looking up quickly, the approaching footsteps echoing wildly in his ears. "Take care of her, Kin!"

Kin grabbed the former apprentice's hand, nearly dragging her away from her master and down the slope toward the transport that stood there, their one salvation. They were nearly up the ramp when Jin-sé turned back.

She would always remember the sight of her former master, igniting his blade and stepping forward to meet the attackers, features set in determination, protection radiating from every movement.

The door closed, leaving him behind.


	2. Where I Belonged

**Chapter Two - Where I Belonged**

* * *

_ "How do you know Master Plo anyway?" Anakin asked, frowning slightly as he piloted the ship through a rubble field._

_ Ahsoka looked down. "He's one of my oldest friends. It was Master Plo Koon who found me and brought me to the Temple where I belonged."_

* * *

The young Togruta sighed, rubbing a hand across her unmarked forehead before glaring at the instruments in front of her. "Come on, you – work!"

It would be easier, she reflected, if she could solve it with a flick of her hand, like Master Skywa –

She slammed down on _that_ thought. It was hardly befitting of an exiled padawan to be wishing she knew how to abuse her powers. It was those powers that had gotten her into trouble in the first place.

A year ago, Ahsoka had been assigned to a different master when her current master was needed – permanently – at the front. She had resented the reassignment, and defied him multiple times.

The last time her defiance cost Master Owt'nry his life.

In normal circumstances, she would have simply been exiled. But Master Kenobi had been onplanet, and between him and Master Yoda they had come up with a counter-punishment. If, in three years, she felt that she still belonged among the Jedi, she could return to the Temple.

And until that time, she was stuck with a different name – Aso – and a life as a technician on the passenger liner _Drimaria_. She had even stopped wearing the tribal facepaint, not wanting to be recognized by any of their passengers who she might have crossed paths with in the past.

Right now, though, glaring at the controls wasn't making them work.

She was just considering bashing the wires with a hydrospanner to see if it would make them behave when a sudden surge of pain hit her. She gasped and reeled backward, but the pain persisted. She felt flashes of red-hot pain that knocked her down to her knees, trying to diffuse the storm.

_It has to be Force-related_, she thought fuzzily. _I don't think – _and then all cognitive thought was wiped out as another wave screamed down on her, divorcing her of consciousness.

"Aso? Aso, you all right?"

Ahsoka weakly forced open her eyes to find a concerned Rodian leaning over her. She tried to sit up and grabbed her head with one hand as it swam at the motion. Her crewmate steadied her.

"What… what happened?" she asked fuzzily, trying to make her eyes focus properly.

"You must have collapsed," he explained, helping her sit up fully this time. "I found you when I came back to check the water exchangers – apparently they're being finicky again. Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine," she replied weakly, trying to figure out what had happened as he helped her to her feet. There had been a wave of – something… It had felt, she realized, like when they lost men during battle.

_But it was never that strong…_

"The others are watching the holo-vision in the rear hold," the Rodian continued as they walked down the hall in that direction. "Something about a conspiracy or something – I didn't pay that much attention. Here," he added as Ahsoka swayed, "You go sit down with them, I'll finish that panel you were working on."

She nodded tiredly. "Thanks, Jef."

Ahsoka entered the hold to find the rest of the crew glued to the screen. "_…catastrophe for the Republic,_" the announcer was saying. "_Thanks to the early warning, many of the conspirators were stopped before they could take action…_"

Ahsoka took a look at the screen and froze.

Pictures progressed across the screen. Master Windu attacking the Chancellor with drawn lightsaber… troops marching en masse down the main streets of Coruscant… the Jedi Temple in flames.

Ahsoka turned and fled down the hall, ignoring the concerned call of a few passengers she passed as tears streamed down her face. Not until she was in the empty crew quarters did she stop, looking wildly back and forth.

She dug frantically through the bag that held her personal belongings and then stilled, drawing out a single, woven braid. For a moment she stared at it, then her fierce personality prevailed and she turned purposely toward a small gas light in the corner.

Moments later, she lit the end of her braid on fire and then dropped it to watch it burn, face twisted into a grim fury that masked the pain she suppressed.

Ahsoka stood there until her last tie to the Jedi was reduced to embers.


End file.
